Multi-stage circulators



Jan. 10, 1967 H. JAHNS 3,297,307

MULTI-STAGE CIRCULATORS Filed Jan. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 495W: J4 5 BY ATTORNEY Jan. 10, 1967 H. JAHNS 3,297,307

MULTI-STAGE CIRCULATORS Filed Jan. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY f:

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,297,307 Patented Jan. 10, 1967 Claims. cl. 259-97 The present invention relates to circulators and particularly multi-state axial flow circulators with variable or adjustable delivery.

With multi-stage axial flow circulators having adjustable delivery, the delivery may be controlled by changing the speed of rotation of the drive motor or by adjusting the runner or guide vanes.

In case of control of the delivery by variation of the speed of rotation, there are required either expensive drive motors with variable speeds or expensive transmissions.

If the control of the delivery is to be effected by adjustment of the runner or guide-vanes, there is required an expensive mechanism which is subject to wear and which can easily lead to malfunctions and to the failure in operation.

It is not desirable to control the delivery of a singlestage axial-flow circulator or agitator by closing the inlet or outlet connections of the circulator or agitator and conducting the liquid to be conveyed through openings arranged radially in the circulator or agitator housing which may be closed or opened to a greater or lesser extent by a rotatable ring having corresponding openings in it.

In this embodiment, the path of the liquids to be conveyed extends exclusively through the radial openings in the circulator or agitator housing and the liquid being conveyed is thus unavoidably throttled in front of the radial openings. In this way, even if the openings are complete ly open, the efiiciency of the circulator is quite low.

It is a feature of the present invention to control the delivery of a multi-stage axial-flow circulator or agitator by providing closable outlet openings in the cylindrical part of a circulator or agitator housing, provided with unrestricted free inlet and outlet areas before the last stage.

The path of the medium to be conveyed in the circulator or agitator of the invention extends through the unblocked inlet and outlet openings which do not obstruct the flow, while the control of the delivery is effected by the quantity discharging from the outlet openings of the circulator or agitator housing before the last stage of the circulator or agitator.

In such circulators having one or more guide-vane rings, the outlet openings are arranged in the area of the guide-vane ring before the last stage of the circulator or agitator. By this arrangement, it is possible to reduce the delivery of the entire circulator or agitator to substantially the output of the last stage.

The outlet openings may be opened or entirely or partially closed by a rotatable ring, having openings which correspond to the outlet openings.

In order to adjust the circulator or agitator intended for installation in closed pressure vessels and particularly high temperature dyeing machines, the rotatable ring is shifted by an adjustment member actuated from the outside of the vessel into the closed position or into position for part or full opening of the outlet openings.

For this purpose for instance, the ring may be brought into the proper control position by an adjustment member actuated from the outside.

To accomplish this, the ring is turned in one embodiment by a bell crank lever which in its turn is adjustable by a rod on which the spindle of a hand wheel acts.

The circulator or agitator may be inserted, together with the adjusting mechanism as a single enclosed unit, into an opening in a pressure container for a liquid processing or textile dyeing operations and flange onto the edge of the opening therein.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a two-state axial-flow circulator or agitator shown in horizontal position with an adjustment mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same circulator or agitator partially in longitudinal section.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are fragmentary cross-sections along the line II of FIG. 1 respectively showing the outlet openings blocked, partially opened and fully open.

The circulator housing 1 bears on its cylindrical housing portion 2 two guide rings 3. Between the rings 3, there is rotatably supported a movable sleeve 5 provided with ports 4 and this sleeve is held in position by the guide-rings 3. The ports 4 in the position of the ring 3, as shown in FIG. 1, partially open outlet openings 6 in the cylindrical portion 2 of the pump housing 1.

The rotatable ring 5 bears an outwardly projecting radial extension 7 which lodges or fits in an opening 8 of the bell crank lever 10. The lever 10 is pivotally sup ported on a pivot pin 9 on the pump housing 1.

On the other end of the bell crank lever 10, the pin 11 projects on both sides and engages the fork-shaped or clevis end of the rod 12. The rod 12 extends to the lever 14 supported on a pivot pin 13 mounting on the housing 1. The lever 14 is actuated on the other end opposite the rod 12 by the reciprocable spindle 15.

The spindle 15 extends through the periphery of flange 16 of the pump housing 1. The flange 16 may be bolted to the edge of the opening in a pressure container after the circulator has been inserted into said pressure container.

A stuffing box 17 assures a liquid tight bearing of the spindle 15 through the flange 16.

A hand wheel or member 18 is fixed onto the outer extension of the spindle 15. By turning the hand wheel 18, the spindle 15, which may be provided with a threaded section, is reciprocated. The member 19 may be threaded onto the spindle 15. The axial displacement of the spindle 15 will move the lever 14, the rod 12, the bell crank lever 13 and the sleeve 5 so that the outlet openings 6 are closed or opened to a greater or lesser extent.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outlet openings 6 are located in the region of the guide vane sleeve 20.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 stage axialflow circulator is intended in particular for circulators with varying direction of delivery since for each direction of delivery the outlet openings 6 in the region of the guidevane sleeve 21 are positioned before the last stage of the circulator.

For three or more stage circulators with varying direction of delivery, it is adsivable to provide behind the first and in front of the last stages of the circulator, closable outlet openings in order to be able for both directions of delivery to effect the control of the delivery in each case in front of the final stage.

In FIG. 3, the sleeve 5 closes the outlet openings 6 completely. In this position, the circulator operates with the maximum delivery.

In FIGURE 4, the outlet openings 6 are partially opened by the ports 4 of the sleeve 5 whereby a part of the liquid to be conveyed emerges prematurely from the circulator housing so that the delivery of the circulator is reduced.

Finally, in FIG. 5, the ports 4 of the sleeve 5 fully open the outlet. openings 6 of the circulator housing. In this way the minimum delivery of the circulator is obtained without the efiiciency of the circulator being impaired by a large throttling action.

The circulator housing 1 itself may have a conical end portion 30 terminating in the mounting flange 16. The central shaft 31 may drive the liquid impelling members 32 and the wall of the pressure container may be diagrammatically indicated at 33.

The sleeves 34 with fixed intermediate ported sleeve 20 form the housing 1 with the unobsetructed inlet and outlet fiow passages 35 and 36.

As many changes could be made in the above multistage circulators and many Widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departure from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as i1- lustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a fluid circulator system, a pressure container and a multi-stage axial flow circulator mounted within said pressure container for liquid processing, said circulator having a cylindrical pump housing composed of a plurality of cylindrical fixed sleeves, a plurality of stages ranging from the first stage to the last stage including a central shaft driving a plurality of liquid activating members arranged so that there Will be one member for each stage and one member within each sleeve, one stage of said pump having its fixed sleeve provided with a plurality of ports therein around the periphery thereof and a movable porting sleeve positioned around said ported sleeve with a plurality of matching ports and means to move said movable sleeve to open and close the ports in the fixed ported sleeve.

2. The circulator of claim 1, said housing having a conical end portion provided with a mounting flange for mounting the circulator upon and within said container.

3. The circulator of claim 1, said last mentioned means having an actuating extension beyond the circulator and the pressure container.

4. The circulator of claim 1, said last mentioned ends including a bell crank lever mounted on the housing to move the movable ring and a spindle extending beyond the circulator to move the bell crank lever.

5. In a combination of a pressure vessel for carrying out high temperature dyeing operations and the like and a multi-stage axial flow circulator mounted therein, said circulator having an outside housing, spaced guide rings on the outside of said housing, a rotatable cylindrical ring having a plurality of spaced ports extending therethrough, said housing including a fixed inside cylindrical element located inside of said rotatable ring having a plurality of spaced matching ports, said rotatable ring being rotatable to out 011 or open said matching ports partly or wholly, a central impelling member located on the area inside of said housing and inside of said rotatable ported ring, additional impelling members positioned on the sides of the central impelling member and means to rotate said rotatable ring in said fixed inside element to control the delivery.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,754,255 4/1930 Bond 25997 1,933,346 10/1933 Schwentker 259-97 2,718,349 9/1955 Wilde 230-114 2,958,456 11/1960 Forshaw 230l 15 2,999,630 9/1961 Warren et al. 2301 14 3,146,585 9/1964 Gulick 230114 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,012,339 4/1952 France.

933,025 9/1955 Germany.

595,35 1 12/ 1947 Great Britain.

LAURENCE V. EFNER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A FLUID CIRCULATOR SYSTEM, A PRESSURE CONTAINER AND A MULTI-STAGE AXIAL FLOW CIRCULATOR MOUNTED WITHIN SAID PRESSURE CONTAINER FOR LIQUID PROCESSING, SAID CIRCULATOR HAVING A CYLINDRICAL PUMP HOUSING COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF CYLINDRICAL FIXED SLEEVES, A PLURALITY OF STAGES RANGING FROM THE FIRST STAGE TO THE LAST STAGE INCLUDING A CENTRAL SHAFT DRIVING A PLURALITY OF LIQUID ACTIVATING MEMBERS ARRANGED SO THAT THERE WILL BE ONE MEMBER FOR EACH STAGE AND ONE MEMBER WITHIN EACH SLEEVE, ONE STAGE OF SAID PUMP HAVING ITS FIXED SLEEVE PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF PORTS THEREIN AROUND THE PERIPHERY THEREOF AND A MOVABLE PORTING SLEEVE POSITIONED AROUND SAID PORTED 